Leather shoehorn



July s, 192; 1,500,928

J. H. DAVIS LEATHER SHOEHORN Filed A il 1s 1923 l atenteol July 8, 1924.

JbHN H. DAVIS, or GOVINGTON, xsnrucxy, assienon T0 scanner. Hashim, or cmcmnarr, omzo. a V

LEATHER snowman.

Application filed. April 16, 1923. Serial No. 632,222.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather Shoehorns; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This inventionrelatesto shoe horns and its object is to provide a simple, practical flexible leather shoe horn which will not curl, can be conveniently carried in the pocket of the owner, can be mailed in an ordinary flat envelope, and is adapted'to be used as an eilicient advertising medium.

I will explainthe invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a shoe horn embodying the invention, and summarize in the claims the novel features of construction for which protection is desired.

In said drawings: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my flexible noncurling leather shoe horn.

Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view thereof on line 22 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 33 Fig. 1. a

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged detail sectional view indicating the appearance of a compressed or indented border.

Figs. 5 and 6 and 7 are'top plan views of part of a flexible shoe horn showing various forms of my indented border.

The shoe horn is stamped out of leather and is thin andflat and shaped approximately like the bottom of an ordinary heelless shoe, having a somewhat enlarged heel engaging portion 1 and a handle portion 2. I found that horns merely stamped out of leather in the shape shown would curl up at the edges and soon become absolutely worthless, but after considerable experimentation I discovered that by consolidating the fibers of the leather or pressing an indentation or border, as shown at 3, in the face of the leather horn and near the edge thereof, that such curling would be prevented. I further found that this compression of the fibers or indenting must be accomplished in the 7 leather horns shortly after the blanks therefor had been cut or the curling would begin. After such border is stamped in the leather horn lts edges will not curl and the horn can be rolled or flexed but will resume a straight flat form when released. This lmpressed border is of great practical importance in order to produce a durable, salable, flexible shoe horn.

It can readily be seen that my indented border may be varied at will; three variations being shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and 7 or the drawing. The border need not be continuous, but may be broken, into dots or dashes, or indented lettering may be employed, thus adapting the border to advertising uses, and enhancing the value of the horn as an advertising medium.

In Fig. the indentations extend clear through the leather compressing the material on a diiferent plane from the other indentations, but still effecting a compression at the sides of the holes.

I attribute the important effect of the action of this border to the fact that the indentation, compresses the portion of the leather directly beneath the border, as indicatedvat at in tl1e..drawings, making such compressed portion comparatively very stiff.

This condensed portion 4 has substantially the effect of a beading inserted in the margin, having suflicient stiffness to prevent curling of the leather under atmospheric conditions but at the same time not preventing the desirable flexing of the leather horn when used. It is intended and desired that the horn as a whole should be flexible and yielding, so as to readily accommodate itself to the heel of the wearer and form of the heel of the shoe when used; and not be uncomfortable and unyielding when used as are horns made of celluloid or other stifl non-flexing material.

My novel flexible leather shoe horns can be easily and cheaply manufactured; can be used as advertising mediums for shoe houses or other concerns by printing advertisements thereon; can be readily and comfortably carried in the pocket; do not take up any ap-- preciable space when placed in a dress suit case; can be mailed in an ordinary fiat envelope; or enclosed in an ordinary letter or circular; and will pass through mail cancelling machines without injuring the latter. Such flexible shoe horns are more comfortable and satisfactory to use than the ordinary curved stiif horns heretofore used.

" ing anindented border, substantially as and What I claim is; 1. A fiat flexible shoe horn having an indented border substantially 'as and for the 3. A flat flexible shoe horn having a border in which the fibres are compressed substantially as and for the purpose described. 1

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I afliX my signature.

purpose (tlesoribeol;v v 5 2. A flat flexible leather shoe horn, havfor the purpose specified. JOHN H. DAVIS. 

